Some New Canaan residents are upset that the town has allowed nonresidents to buy passes to use the Waveny Park pool.

Some New Canaan residents are upset that the town has allowed nonresidents to buy passes to use the Waveny Park pool.

Photo: Contributed

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Some New Canaan residents are upset that the town has allowed nonresidents to buy passes to use the Waveny Park pool.

Some New Canaan residents are upset that the town has allowed nonresidents to buy passes to use the Waveny Park pool.

Photo: File Photo, New Canaan News

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New Canaanites not cool with nonresidents at pool

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NEW CANAAN -- Residents are hot and bothered by the sale of Waveny pool passes to nonresidents, and, as of Aug. 30, 114 of them have signed a petition on the internet petition website change.org asking that passes not be sold to nonresidents.

This summer New Canaan's Board of Selectmen approved a plan to sell 100 family passes to nonresidents with a price of $500 per pass, to help cover the expense of operating the pool.

Those who signed the petition offered a wide range of complaints, a common theme being the claim that the pool is now more crowded and less clean.

"The appeal of living in New Canaan is the community life style," wrote petitioner Wayne Hartslief. "This community lifestyle no longer exists at Waveny with the opening of New Canaan amenities to non-residents."

Another petitioner, Jill Pescatore, wrote, "The Town Pool is a `Town Resident' amenity that is paid for by our property tax dollars. I am appalled that the Town would even consider letting non residents join. Since the pool has been open to non residents, I have noticed a complete change in dynamic. If the pool needs additional funding (which I dont [sic] believe it does) then increase the price for the residents slightly. Our residents need to band together and oppose this going forward."

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The pool is not in fact paid for with tax dollars. Recreation Director Steve Benko, who had not heard of the petition until Hearst Connecticut Newspapers brought it to his attention Aug. 30, said, "The pool is (operated from) an enterprise fund, people aren't taxed for the pool," Benko said. "It operates on its own; no tax dollars are put into it in the budget."

Pool revenue pays not just for the operating expenses but also for the principal on the 20-year bond the town issued in 2002 to build it. The town covers the interest payments, according to Benko.

Attendance at the pool has slipped in recent years, Benko said. Prior to 2009 and the financial crisis, the town sold between 800 and 850 family passes per year. In 2009, that number fell to 660 and has risen only modestly since then, with about 720 passes sold for the 2013 season. Since the pool is not funded through the municipal budget, Benko said he looked to other means of financing the operation, eventually asking town officials for permission to sell a limited number of passes to nonresidents.

The 100 passes sold out in six hours, according to Benko, raising $50,000 in a day for the operation, which has a budget of roughly $355,000. New Canaanites pay $385 for the same pass.

Nevertheless, the petition claims that taxpayers do fund the pool. "The Waveny Town Pool is a New Canaan treasure," the petition reads. "Our New Canaan tax dollars pay for the Town pool therefore it should only be available to people who live in New Canaan. We strongly urge the Parks and Recreation Commission to discontinue its policy of selling non-resident pool passes. Thank you."

The perception of overcrowding also prompted some people who signed the petition to say there weren't enough lifeguards at the pool. Ken. P wrote, "July Fourth weekend people stepped over each other on the lawn and in the water because there is no more room. Importantly -- the number of people in the pool exceeds the number of lifeguards who are safely in place to watch over bathers."

But Benko took umbrage at the lifeguard staffing. "That's not true. If anything, I got criticized for (having) too many lifeguards. If it's busy, I've got all five lifeguards plus a deck guard plus a guard at the kiddie pool," he said. "There are these rumors people are putting out and they're not true and it's not fair."

At Darien's Weed Beach, there may be between three and five lifeguards on patrol during busy times of the summer. The swimming area at Weed Beach is about 490 linear feet, Darien's Parks and Recreation Director Sue Swiatek said. A season parking sticker costs $40 per car for residents and $40 a day for nonresidents, according to Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation Jim Coghlan.

One nonresident pass-holder commented on the petition as well, but dissented with the others. "As a person who purchased a pass for the Waveny Pool, I am shocked and indeed disgusted by the comments I have read here," wrote a woman who identified herself as Kate Morin from Norwalk.

"I have been to the pool many times this summer and have never found it crowded. Here is what I have noticed -- my children are not welcomed into games of basketball, they are ignored by other children when they ask to play with them, I have been used as a base during many tag games with children grabbing onto the back of my chair and then racing between chairs and around, bumping into myself and our family, with no apology. I watched a mother (wearing a NC Rams hat) hold her child over a grate and let her urinate, rather than walking to the bathroom, I have watched groups of mothers chatting as their children blatantly eat and also run on the deck against policies."

Another frequent complaint by petitioners was about the level of public input in the decision. It was discussed at the May 8 and June 12 meetings of the Parks and Recreation Commission, in addition to being discussed and passed at the Board of Selectmen June 18 meeting.

"I was frankly surprised when I read it in the paper that that decision had been made by the commission, I would have thought they'd reach out to the council before making that decision," he said.

Hearst Connecticut Newspapers contacted all of the people who commented on the petition and had listed telephone numbers to be interviewed for this story. None of the dozen-plus people Hearst reporters spoke with wanted to comment for this story, and none of the voicemail messages left were returned.